History teacher to relocate after this school year

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by Julia Blando, Copy Editor

Paul McCrary, history teacher, is ending his 16 year stay at Glen Rock High School.

He taught at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, New Jersey for one year before being hired at Glen Rock in September of 2001.

He wanted to work in this district because of the ratings, the type of student body, freedom as a teacher to explore different styles, and that (16 years ago) there was “not a lot of paperwork.” When he came to the school he immediately liked the feeling he got and felt comfortable.

During his first week here, the attacks on the twin towers occurred, and it was “crazy.” The school only had computers in the media center, and the internet was not nearly as good as it is now. Not many people had cell phones, and if they did, there was no connection, so no one really knew if it was just a rumor or not and how much of it was true. When the seniors came back from lunch, they confirmed the attacks, and the faculty tried to keep the students calm and give them reassurance.

Since working at Glen Rock, McCrary is most known for his sense of humor and unique teaching style.

“He makes his class fun. He’s so funny, and he’s a great teacher in general,” Isha Slavin, junior, said.

Louis Cahn, junior and classmate of Slavin, echoed her enjoyment of McCrary’s class. 

He believes that one of the reasons McCrary is so popular among students is because the majority of his class is having discussions and interacting with the students, rather than paperwork and written assignments.

“He teaches differently in a way that it makes me want to be in class, it makes me want to learn, but not just having to do brainless work that doesn’t benefit my learning experience,” Cahn said.

McCrary and his wife both got job offers in Seattle, Washington and will be leaving the East Coast mid-summer. The school he will be teaching at on the west-coast has a similar type of student body is but about three times as large as Glen Rock.

“We figured it was a good time for our family to go and try new experiences,” McCrary said.

He is excited to start a new life with his family on the other side of the country but is also having trouble with the idea of leaving his students behind. The experience is “bittersweet.”

“It’s just nice to work with people who want to do well and learn,” he said.